Coping or Corruption? When Addiction Gets Funny

Recently deceased actress Carrie Fisher had a tumultuous relationship her entire public life with various drugs and mental illness. Cast as Princess Leia at just 19, she soon became addicted to cocaine and lost weight for the role rapidly. She would be in the spotlight for the next forty years, openly discussing her struggle with bipolar disorder and addiction, all while maintaining a sense of humor that strikes some as distasteful. For Fisher, it was simply a way of life.

Fisher’s book, Wishful Drinking, talks about her experiences with various drugs such as cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and opioids. The book is based on her one-woman show of the same name, which she had been performing since 2008. Though she talks about serious issues, she puts a comical sin on the whole thing, enough to make more fragile audiences uncomfortable.

For example, in an interview on the Australian show A Current Affair when asked if she missed drugs she responded quickly, “Oh yeah. You have any?” Fisher had a knack for speaking humorously, yet every statement had a tinge of truth that subtly reminds everyone what she dealt with behind the scenes. She talks casually about her addiction to codeine. She joked, “it said take one every four hours, I just swapped the numbers.” She talks so casually about overdosing on drugs, it shocks the reader into laughter.

In doing so, Fisher combats the negative stigma towards drug addicts. We may think that they are in an altered state of mind, that we should always feel sorry for the “poor addict.” However, Fisher proved consistently with her sharp wit that she was perfectly present mentally. Instead of letting us feel bad for her, she made constant jokes to make light of her hardships. She shows one of the characteristics of a true comedian and proves that anything can be made funny.